After My Fiance Betrayed Me, the Alpha King Marked Me

Chapter 1: Stupid Blonde Layla ... "Babe, I can't come with you to pick out your wedding dress. Take care of everything for me, okay? Once we're married, I'll finally introduce you to my family, and everyone on campus will know that I belong to you and only you." His hand brushed through my hair before he pressed a kiss to my forehead and then he left, just like that. Dressed in his usual stylish clothes, Killian looked as handsome as ever. Standing at six-foot-one, he had always been the kind of guy who drew attention without even trying. Killian Wanes. The twenty-year-old man who had been my boyfriend since high school. He was the one who had chased after me first, and we had been together for four years now. And I, I'm Layla Swan. I had just turned nineteen and was currently in my first year of university and now... I was preparing to marry Killian Wanes. The problem was that he couldn't even make time to help me choose my wedding dress. I stood by the apartment door and watched him leave, leaving me alone in the outfit I had spent extra time putting together. Today was supposed to be special. I was supposed to visit a bridal boutique and choose the dress I would wear on my wedding day. Last month, Killian had proposed to me. He told me he wanted me completely. He said he didn't want any other man to have me. But could a man who wanted a woman that badly really not spare a few hours to help her choose a wedding dress? I didn't know. What I did know was that this wasn't the first time. Killian was always busy hanging out with his friends, while I was the one taking care of every single detail of our wedding preparations. With a quiet sigh, I dropped onto the sofa. The disappointment sitting in my chest was impossible to ignore, my gaze landed on the leave-of-absence form lying on the coffee table... I hadn't submitted it yet. Yes... I was planning to take a break from university to prepare for our wedding. I had been so happy when Killian proposed that I never stopped to think twice about it. I truly believed that marrying him would finally put an end to all the secrecy... No more hiding, no more pretending we weren't together. He was handsome, captain of the university hockey team, and one of the most popular guys on campus. That popularity was exactly why our relationship had remained a secret for years, all for the sake of his hockey career and for the sake of his fans. "Hmph..." I grabbed the unfinished paperwork and tossed it back onto the table. A small laugh escaped my lips because honestly, I felt a little pathetic. The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains of the small apartment Killian and I shared. My eyes drifted toward my reflection, I had spent a long time getting ready today. The dress I was wearing fit me perfectly. At five-foot-four, I wasn't particularly tall. My blonde hair framed my face, falling over my shoulders, while my hazel-green eyes stared back at me from the mirror. Sometimes people called me a stupid blonde. It didn't matter that I had earned my place at one of the country's top universities through the entrance exams. To some people, blonde automatically meant stupid. Yeah, life could be funny like that. I let out a long breath then I picked up my bag before setting it down again. The excitement I had felt earlier was completely gone. In the end, I decided to cancel my plan to the bridal boutique. I just didn't feel like choosing a wedding dress anymore. I reached for my phone on the table and opened social media. A slight frown formed between my brows when I noticed that Hera had changed her profile picture. The moment I saw it, my stomach dropped... Hera was wearing Killian's hockey jacket and beneath the photo, her status read: "Let's see where my next love adventure takes me." My chest tightened, I swallowed hard, but even that simple action felt painful. No!! I immediately shook my head. There was no freaking way!! The ugly suspicion creeping into my mind couldn't possibly be true. Hera was the sexiest girl on campus. She was the kind of girl who could walk into a room and have every man staring at her. Countless guys chased after her, desperate for her attention, desperate to get into her bed. There was no way Killian was chasing Hera too. Yeah! No way!!! I tossed my phone back onto the sofa and tried to calm myself down. Then I changed into more comfortable clothes and spent the rest of the day exactly the way I always did, alone and without Killian by my side. ... By the time night fell, my phone was flooded with notifications. At first, I ignored them, but to make my day worse another notification appeared and another, and then another one... A strange sense of unease settled in my chest. Slowly, I picked up my phone and unlocked the screen. And then... THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. My heart nearly exploded inside my chest, my vision wavered, I could feel heat burned behind my eyes and before I could stop it, tears spilled down my cheeks. A photo filled the screen... A photo of Killian and Hera kissing had been posted on Hera's social media. The caption read: "Tonight is going to be so much fun with my hockey captain." For a moment, I couldn't hear anything. My mind became a chaotic mess of noise and my fingers trembled so badly that I almost dropped my phone as I opened a video that had been sent by one of Killian's hockey teammates. I pressed play and in that moment, my world shattered, the video showed a group of hockey players gathered inside a club I didn't recognize. "Aren't you dating Layla?" one of them asked. "We're your close friends, so we know you've got something going on with that stupid blonde. What happened? Did you get bored of her? Is that why you're chasing Hera now?" My eyes widened, my hand shook so violently that I could barely keep hold of my phone. I stared at the screen, waiting for Killian to deny it, waiting for him to laugh and tell them they were wrong. Waiting for him to say something—anything—that would prove this wasn't real, but reality shattered me... "Haha!" He laughed. My heart dropped straight into my stomach. "She was never really my girlfriend." Everything inside me froze. "She's just some blonde girl who likes sleeping with me." A proud smile spread across his face, he looked completely pleased with himself, as if he enjoyed saying those words. "As a man, why would I turn her down? She was willing to be my bed partner. So what's wrong with having another girl on the side for myself?" The group burst into laughter and the sound echoed through the speakers, it's so loud and cruel. Killian leaned back casually before continuing, "Besides, she'll keep waiting for me at the apartment and keep believing everything I tell her." His smile widened. "She's way too innocent." He laughed again. "And way too stupid." The words slammed into my chest like a blade and for a second, I couldn't feel anything at all, andafter a few seconds everything hit me at once. The humiliation, the betrayal and te disgust. My thoughts crashed into each other until I couldn't think straight anymore. My fingers ached from gripping the phone too tightly but even that pain felt insignificant compared to the agony tearing through my heart. My eyes burned with tears, and all I could hear was their laughter... Their laughter echoed through my ears over and over again. They had humiliated me, they had laughed at me and now they were openly saying that I was nothing more than a girl Killian slept with. How could he say something like that? How could he laugh while insulting me? How could he be so cruel? My chest felt so tight that I could barely breathe. The phone slipped from my hand and fell beside my feet, but even through the pain tearing me apart, I could still hear them laughing, still hear them mocking me. "Our hockey captain really is a playboy. A beautiful blonde waiting for him at home and the sexiest girl on campus waiting to get into bed with him. Damn, Captain, I'm jealous." "HAHAHA!" "Nah, I actually like your stupid blonde better. She looks sweeter and more innocent. If you ever get bored of her, let me know, Captain. I'd be more than happy to take Layla the stupid blonde off your hands." More laughter exploded around them, then everything went silent. I couldn't hear anything anymore, the video ended just like that, and with it... my hope and my feelings ended too. My entire body trembled as nausea twisted violently in my stomach, it felt as though someone had pushed me from the top of the tallest building in the world. I was falling endlessly and I couldn't think clearly anymore. "I promise I'll marry you." "You're the only one for me, Layla." "I love you, Layla." Every romantic word Killian had ever said to me suddenly became a nightmare. Each memory felt like a sword being driven straight through my heart. Slowly, I lifted my head and looked around the small apartment where Killian used to sit with me for hours, talking about the future we were supposed to have together. My breathing became uneven and without realizing it, tears began spilling from my eyes. At first they came quietly... Then... "Ahhh!" A hoarse scream burst from my throat, I cried so hard that my body shook, I screamed because the pain was too much. It felt as if I had been stripped naked in front of everyone. It felt as though I hadn't only been betrayed and it felt as though he had sold me. My sobs made my head throb painfully and as I cried, my gaze slowly fell to my ring finger. The engagement ring I was wearing is a fake diamond ring. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "I'll buy you a huge diamond when we get married. Once I start making money from hockey, I'll buy you a diamond ring that truly belongs on your hand. So for now, wear this one, okay?" His voice echoed inside my head. Back then, I had been so happy when he gave me this cheap imitation ring... I had treasured it. I had believed every single word he told me. God... I was such an i***t. My eyes were swollen and red from crying as I pulled the ring off my finger and my trembling hand dropped it onto the table. Clink. I stared at the fake ring, the sight of it filled me with anger. Bzzz... Bzzz... Bzzz... My phone vibrated again, but this time, it was a video call from Maya... My best friend. I answered it automatically and the moment the call connected, Maya's voice practically exploded from the speaker. "Layla, don't open social media! Don't check the campus group chats! Don't look at your phone!" Her voice was serious and sounded panicked. I stared at her blankly. Then, while the video call was still ongoing, I opened social media. And... "The hockey captain is finally mine! Yay!" Hera squealed excitedly. In the newest video she had uploaded, she wrapped her arms around Killian's neck and kissed him passionately. My vision blurred. "This diamond ring marks the beginning of our relationship! Ah!" Hera proudly held up her hand for the camera, and a diamond ring sparkled on her finger. The diamond ring Killian had given her. Huh? A laugh escaped me, then another and another... I laughed like a crazy person while tears continued pouring down my face. I couldn't hold the pain in anymore. "Layla..." "Layla, are you okay?" "Oh my God, I can't even come see you because I'm out of town right now! How could that bastard do this to you?!" Maya sounded furious. But I... I couldn't hear her anymore. My phone slipped from my hand again, and I... I didn't know what I was supposed to do now. Should I burn this apartment down? Should I run away? Disappear somewhere far away where nobody could find me? Or what? What was I supposed to do? All I wanted to do was scream. I wanted to tear this heart out of my chest and make the pain stop. I didn't have any strength left. My trembling body sank back against the sofa, then my phone lit up again but this time it wasn't another video... It was a strange message. "You are the bride chosen by the Moon Goddess, I will come for you soon." Huh? What the hell was that? The message was unbelievably strange. Scammers these days would do absolutely anything to trick people. But right now... Right now, I was far too broken to process any of it. ... To be continued...